May/June at CPT

The CPT facility in the summer is an ongoing battle to control plant growth. CPT's Office Manager, Kyra Bucich, returned from leave to discover this applied to her office as well. I attempted to blaze a trail prior to her arrival.

Rajaji Tiger was sedated for a medical exam because he had been a bit lethargic and had a swollen nose the previous week. Sedating a tiger is a large operation, and begins by shifting the animal to the side of his enclosure that will be most effective for the procedure.

When you sedate your house cat, you normally get bloodwork before the sedation to ensure they do not have any health problems that might make the sedation dangerous. With a tiger, you have to sedate them in order to get the bloodwork, so there is more of a risk. In the case of wildcats, they lose their ability to regulate their body temperature.

Raj did not initially respond well to the sedation. His temperature went up, and staff began hosing him down to lower his body temperature. Dr. Weiser was able to do a brief exam , and found grass in Raj's nose. Subsequent testing of the blood indicated a urinary infection, so Raj was placed on antibiotics.

Raj is his old self again (perhaps still with grass in his nose), and is happy to greet his tour visitors.

Welcome

Welcome to the new home of the "Secret Turtle" CPT page. We have converted to blog form for convenience.

The "Secret Turtle" is a staff insider blog created by IT Administrator, Amanda Byrne, for the Carnivore Preservation Trust, to provide a way for CPT fans to see a bit of what it's like to work for a wildcat sanctuary.

The "secret turtle" is depicted as an upside-down turtle, and began when former Volunteer Coordinator, Jim Tranchida, drew one on the staff white board with a talk bubble sighing "I expire". It has since appeared as an inside joke, saying things like "BLARK". The turtle was affectionately added to the July 2007 issue of the Carnivore Chronicles as a closing "easter egg" (computer-speak for a "secret door" put in by programmers).

As CPT has developed it's online prescence, the Secret Turtle turned into a blog.